Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

Pitcher Junior Guerra, who was called up from Class AAA Colorado Springs to start Wednesday against the Cardinals, might have earned himself another turn in the Brewers' rotation after allowing just one run on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Jeff Roberson, Associated Press

ST. LOUIS – Nothing ever comes easy in the ninth inning for the Milwaukee Brewers but this time they survived.

Reliever Matt Albers shut down a St. Louis rally by striking out pinch-hitter Dexter Fowler with the potential tying run at second base Wednesday afternoon, allowing the Brewers to escape with a 3-2 victory at Busch Stadium.

Bouncing back from an excruciating 11-inning loss the previous evening in which the bullpen blew leads in the ninth and 10th, the Brewers took two of three games from the Cardinals.

Left-hander Josh Hader, who has been the Brewers' most dominant reliever, took over in the eighth with a 3-1 lead and mowed through three hitters with a pair of strikeouts. Things changed when Tommy Pham led off the bottom of the ninth with a drive to left that initially was ruled a double before being changed to a home run.

Hader struck out Matt Carpenter, whose 11th-inning homer beat the Brewers the previous evening, before giving way to Albers.

The Brewers were looking for a boost from starter Junior Guerra, and they got one. Called up from Class AAA Colorado Springs to fill the fifth spot in the rotation, Guerra went 5 1/3 innings, allowing only four hits and one run, with two walks and four strikeouts.

Guerra has looked to regain a foothold in the rotation since suffering a calf injury on opening day last season, throwing him off track for good. He vied for a starter’s job in the spring but did not make the cut, going down to Class AAA Colorado Springs, where he pitched the opener.

Guerra was matched up against one of the Brewers’ long-time nemeses, Adam Wainwright. The veteran right-hander entered the game with a 15-8 record and 2.31 earned run average for his career against Milwaukee.

The Brewers didn't exactly tattoo Wainwright, scoring three runs off him in seven innings. Hernan Perez delivered the first run with a 441-foot blast to left-center in the second inning, his first home run of the season.

Eric Thames added his fifth home run of the season in the third, a fly that dropped just over the right-field wall and beyond the reach of Harrison Bader, who thought for a moment he caught the ball. The Brewers' third run came across in the fifth on Jonathan Villar's RBI grounder.

Junior Guerra pitched 5 1/3 strong innings in his season debut for the Brewers Wednesday afternoon in St. Louis. He gave up one run on four hits while striking out four and walking two.(Photo: Jeff Roberson, Associated Press)

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

FAVORITE MONTH OF THE YEAR: Reggie Jackson was known as “Mr. October.” Thames is gaining a reputation as “Mr. April.” His third-inning home run was the 16th in that month in the two seasons in which he has played for the Brewers. Thames set a franchise record with 11 home runs last April.

ONE-MAN GANGS: Both teams entered the game needing their starting catcher to go the distance. With backup Francisco Peña scheduled to start for the Cardinals, Yadier Molina decided to accept the one-game suspension levied for his skirmish with Arizona manager Torey Lovullo on Sunday. St. Louis did not have a third catcher on its roster. Manny Piña was given the day off to rest a right calf issue, leaving Jett Bandy as the Brewers' only healthy catcher. “At least ours (other catcher) is on the active roster,” manager Craig Counsell said.

ALL OR NOTHING: Ryan Braun and Orlando Arcia have shown a flair for the dramatic in the late innings. Braun has won two games with ninth-inning home runs and Arcia has produced three game-winning hits and put the Brewers ahead again in the 10th inning Tuesday night before that game slipped away. Overall, however, those two hitters have struggled. Braun entered the game batting .184 and Arcia was hitting .162. “(Braun) and Orlando are having similar seasons,” Counsell said. “They’ve had enough big hits to help us win games.”

IN THE HIT COLUMN: Late-inning relievers rarely get at-bats, and accordingly, Dan Jennings had just one at-bat during his career before Wednesday – way back in 2012 with Miami. That’s what made it interesting when he batted in the seventh off Wainwright and delivered an opposite-field double into the left-field corner. Jennings is now a .500 career hitter.

LOPEZ NOT NEEDED: To get another fresh arm in the bullpen, the Brewers designated J.J. Hoover for assignment and called up Jorge Lopez from Colorado Springs. A former starter, Lopez was pitching at the back end of the Sky Sox’s bullpen and had allowed no hits or runs in three appearances covering 2 1/3 innings. Lopez arrived just as the game was about to begin but was not needed to pitch. To make room on the roster for Guerra, outfielder Brett Phillips was returned to the Sky Sox, as expected.